Following its submission to Business in the Community’s (BITC) 2012 corporate responsibility index (CRI), Provident Financial is pleased to announce that it has achieved a platinum rating with a score of 95%. This means that Provident has had a platinum rating in the CRI since 2010 and underlines the company’s commitment to developing and implementing a systematic approach to managing and measuring its key social, economic and environmental performance.

Achieving platinum means that Provident has integrated corporate responsibility into its business model and has clear CR responsibilities and incentive structures at board and operational levels. Platinum companies have a structured approach to data collection and social and environmental impact assessment.  They can demonstrate 3-4 years of performance improvement across their key impacts. They act and report with a high level of transparency and stakeholder engagement, and the materiality, completeness and responsiveness of their published data is often third-party assured.

In the ten years since the CR Index launched, there have been substantial shifts in how companies integrate responsible business into their operations, along with a growing recognition of the role of business in society and the potential to be a force for good:

  • In 2002 only 61% of organisations integrated corporate responsibility (CR) into their overall strategy compared with 90% in 2012
  • A 49% increase in companies linking remuneration and bonuses with targets (24% in 2002 to 73% in 2012)
  • In 2004, only 65% of companies regularly discussed all main corporate responsibility areas at board meetings. By 2012 this had risen to 92%
  • The quality of reporting CR has increased from 41% in 2004 to 73% in 2012

Peter Crook, Chief Executive, Provident Financial commented:

“I am very proud that Provident has achieved a score of 95% in the BITC 2012 CR index and has retained its platinum rating. This achievement reflects the investment that the group and its employees have made in embedding our corporate responsibility programme across all areas of the business.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said:

“I congratulate Provident Financial on achieving platinum in the 2012 BITC Corporate Responsibility Index. The CR Index has helped to highlight clearly those best practice examples that bring to life in a powerful way what integrated responsible practice really looks like. As we celebrate 10 years of our CR Index it has given me great pleasure to witness each company’s responsible business journey and the transformations they are making both within their businesses and the impact they have in our communities”.


ENDS

Notes to editors:

About Provident Financial
Established in 1880, Provident Financial is the UK’s leading supplier of personal credit products to the non-standard lending market. It is a FTSE mid-shares 250 company listed on the London Stock Exchange which has almost 3,700 employees and 10,500 self-employed agents who serve 2.5 million customers in the UK and Ireland. Provident’s commitment to corporate responsibility is enshrined in it mission “to be the leading non-standard lender in the UK, acting responsibly in all its relationships and playing a positive role in the communities it serves.”

About BITC
BITC is a business-led charity with a growing membership of over 850 companies. It works locally and nationally through 11 regional teams and internationally with 115 global partners. With a further 10,700 engaged in its campaigns and an employee reach of 16.8 million - BITC is one of the largest and most influential leadership networks focused on driving responsible business practice, offering members a range of practical information, tools, training and resources to help them transform their businesses and integrate responsible practices into their operations.  BITC also asks its members to work in partnership with it to help transform communities and tackle serious social issues where business can make a real difference.

About the CRI
BITC’s CRI is the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility (CR). It helps companies to integrate and improve CR throughout their operations by providing a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting on business impacts in society and on the environment. For the past ten years the CR Index has inspired and challenged over 350 companies to continuously improve their impact on society and the environment. In 2012, more than 100 companies participated publicly and used CRI tool to both improve their management practices and communicate to stakeholders how seriously they take their CR agenda.